This invention relates generally to pointing devices and, more particularly, to an ergonomic pointing device.
Pointing devices such as computer trackball devices are commonly used, for example, to control cursor movement on a computer screen. The use of pointing devices often involves highly repetitive hand and finger movements and positions. Some forms of repetitive stress disorder may be attributed to the use of pointing devices, particularly where awkward and stressful movements and/or positions are involved. Pointing devices having configurations that force the wrist, hand, and fingers of the user to assume awkward and stressful positions and/or movements are undesirable.
Existing pointing devices have evolved with ergonomic considerations in mind. Assignee's own U.S. Design Pat. No. 411,837 shows a shape that guides the hand away from full pronation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,165 to Gart discloses a mouse having an arched metacarpal-phalangeal support surface for supporting the anterior surface of the hand and a concave thenar pad support surface for supporting the thenar pad of the hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,683 to Goldstein et al. discloses a mouse having a top surface, a right side surface, and a substantially vertically rising left side surface. The top surface has a negative slope from front to rear in a range of 15-30.degree. and from left to right in a range of 20-30.degree., and provides at the front of the top surface a phalanx support. The top surface includes a peak running from front to back oriented to lie under the operator's thenar eminence providing support thereto and a surface through which the operator can push the mouse with his or her thenar eminence.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,733 to Lo discloses a mouse having an upright, primary finger-supporting surface for supporting all of the fingers of an upright hand in straight positions and in an upright stack. The mouse includes an opposite thumb-supporting surface for supporting the thumb.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,302 to Scenna et al. discloses a mouse including an upper surface having a hump for supporting the triangular area of the hand encircled by the thenar region, the hyperthenar region, and the region below the metacarpal-phalangeal joints. The upper surface includes a tail having a rising portion to underlie and bear the pressure of the region of the user's hand where the thenar and hyperthenar converge. The finger buttons in the front are elevated above the hump.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,445 to Kaneko et al. discloses a mouse including a top surface having a bulge for supporting the metacarpal-phalangeal joint ridge. The mouse supports the hand such that the wrist rests on the working surface on which the mouse is disposed.